Wicklow-based Ronan Rothwell breeds about 20 top showjumping horses a year. Around 70% will end up being sold to the UK and the rest to Europe.Mr Rothwell told RTÉ's Countrywide: "There is now a time lag because a veterinary report needs to be lodged with the Department of Agriculture for permission for export. That takes around three days.
"Most horses will already have to spend three hours minimum getting to the port. Transporting horses for over 20 hours is a huge step backwards for animal comfort and welfare. That is a big concern." They embarked on a dry run to see if they could continue using the UK landbridge only to find they could not get through Calais."We were all loaded up and ready to go on Thursday night, our veterinary certs were stamped. Then we got a call from Stena to say the ship was not certified to take horses.""The Government does not know what it's like on the ground, we are front and centre on the world's stage when it comes to the equestrian industry.
So don’t transport them abroad !
What about if a UK customer buys a horse at a sale what happens then? Usually they go straight from the sale to new owners farm. What will happen now?
And what about live exporting of animals to Saudi Arabia? All for the sake of having their throats opened with knife...
It's an absolute heap. It's hitting imports and exports of books and comics too. Absolutely no business in the UK was in any way prepared for the realities of Brexit, and they're scrambling to catch up now, which is having a knock-on effect on us. It's pitiful.
Our government is a fk up, all we've heard for years is bloody Brexit and these dopes haven't a thing in motion. We're not cut off from mainland Europe, we're simply not covering all of our bases. The 'we'll deal with it when it happens' attitude doesn't work in government.
Ah lads, don't pretend you care about animal welfare while you have lads sitting up on them beating them with a stick.